1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reflecting surface design system and method for designing a reflecting surface of a reflecting mirror of a lamp member used in a vehicle or the like such as an automobile or the like, a computer program for making a computer design a reflecting surface of a reflecting mirror of a lamp member, and a computer readable recording medium that records the computer program.
2. Related Background Art
A lamp member for a vehicle is formed by a light source, reflecting mirror, and lens. In such lamp member for a vehicle, light emitted by the light source becomes incident on the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror. This incident light is reflected by respective segments of the reflecting surface in reflecting directions determined by their surface shapes, and leaves the lamp member via the lens.
Upon designing the lamp member for a vehicle, conditions in terms of a shape (shape constraint conditions) upon using the lamp member while being mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile or the like, and conditions in terms of an outer appearance (outer appearance constraint conditions) are imposed in addition conditions in terms of functions as a lamp (function constraint conditions). Therefore, it is demanded to design a lamp member that can optimize the conditions in terms of functions while satisfying the given shape and outer appearance constraint conditions.
The function constraint conditions include uniformity of light to be emitted by the entire lamp member, diffusion of light which is to be appropriately diffused and look bright when viewed from various directions, and the like, depending on the types of lamp members. The shape constraint conditions include a condition based on the volume and shape of a lamp member storage portion of a vehicle body, a condition based on the shape of a lamp member outer surface (lens outer surface) contiguous with other vehicle body portions, and the like. The outer appearance constraint condition include a condition based on matching with the outer appearance of other vehicle body portions, a condition based on requirements from design of the vehicle body, and the like.